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NRA Fights Florida Tax on Gun Owners

When government takes money from citizens for general use by government,
IT'S A TAX.

When government confiscates user fees from trust funds intended to be
used to administer specific programs and converts it to government use for other
purposes, IT'S A
TAX.

When government
leaders claim to oppose tax increases and promise not to create new taxes but
then raid trust funds, they have deceived you because
THEY HAVE CREATED A NEW
TAX.In a last minute
sneak attack on gun owners, the Florida Legislature raided the concealed weapons
and firearms licensing trust fund and CREATED A TAX ON THE EXERCISE OF THE SECOND
AMENDMENT.

They took $6
million from the Division of Licensing Concealed Weapons and Firearm Trust Fund
that is intended, by law, to be used solely for administering the concealed
weapons and firearms licensing program. THAT IS A DEFACTO TAX ON GUN OWNERS

BACKGROUND:

Because legislative
budget officials have refused to allow the Division of Licensing to use their
own trust fund money to hire necessary staff and upgrade equipment, the
Concealed Weapons and Firearms Licensing program is in crisis.

It is a
crisis created by the legislature and anti-gun budget staffers. They refused to
allow gun owners' money to be used to administer the gun owner program -- as
required by law -- then confiscated gun owners' money for their own political
purposes. THEY CREATED A
SECOND AMENDMENT TAX.

Right now, the concealed weapons and firearms licensing program is
backlogged and overloaded due in part to the refusal of budget officials and the
Legislature to allow the Division of Licensing to use its own trust fund money
to hire more employees and expand/upgrade equipment.

Crates of unopened
mail containing license and license renewal applications sit in storage. The
backlog of mail sitting unopened, at times, has extended beyond 90 days while
existing licenses are expiring because renewal applications haven't been opened
and processed.

Currently (although the Division of Licensing has
been working weekend shifts to clear the backlog), it is taking 13-14 weeks to
process a "perfect" application once it has been opened. That is an unequivocal
violation of the law that requires issuance or denial of a license by a time
certain –– a violation of law that legislative leaders are condoning by their
actions.

THE LAW REQUIRES THE DIVISION OF LICENSING TO ISSUE A LICENSE
WITHIN 90 DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THE APPLICATION -- or deny the license "for cause,"
based upon the criteria set forth in the law. Theft of operating funds by the
Legislature is not "just cause" for failure to issue licenses or renewals within
90 days.

Theft of those operating funds IS A TAX ON THE EXERCISE OF THE SECOND
AMENDMENT.

While
applications sit gathering dust, legislative leaders took $6 million of
approximately $8 million held in the trust fund. That $6 million is supposed to
be used to pay employees, buy upgraded equipment, upgrade or replace computers
or software, and to otherwise administer the concealed weapons and firearms
licensing program.

BUT, feigning a desperate need for funds for education
and health care, legislative leaders recklessly and ruthlessly confiscated gun
owners’ trust fund money. Why? Because they were building a so-called "working
capital" fund for the 2010-12 legislative term, reported now to be in the
neighborhood of $1.8 BILLION DOLLARS. This so-called "working capital fund" is
for the use of future legislative leaders. THAT MAKES IT A TAX ON THE EXERCISE OF THE SECOND
AMENDMENT.

While Senate
leadership reportedly fought to stop the ruthless raids on trust
funds,in
the end, they simply caved and HELPED the House of
Representatives CREATE A SECOND AMENDMENT
TAX.

The
bad behavior doesn't end there.

Obviously fearing the Governor would use
his line-item veto to stop THE SECOND AMENDMENT
TAX, proviso
language was inserted in the bill in a clear attempt to intimidate the Governor.

The proviso language says that if any portion of the moneys swept from
this and other trust funds does not become law (meaning it is vetoed), that
portion of the money shall be deducted from the EDUCATION BUDGET. This is
clearly designed to keep the Governor from vetoing THE SECOND
AMENDMENT TAX, and
prevent trust fund money from being taken back out the House leadership's
so-called "working capital" fund.

Money in the concealed weapons trust
fund came from gun owners. No money to administer and run the concealed weapons
and firearms licensing program has ever come from general revenue, or any other
state fund or revenue source. The taking of these gun owner user
fees is a de facto tax on the exercise of the Second
Amendment.